Digital Edition 2018 | Volume 24 - Amazon S3 · Trump, who one can only imagine keeps a well-thumbed copy of Dale Carengie’s ‘How to win friends and influence people’ on his

Digital Edition 2018 | Volume 24

It’s no secret that ANC Secretary-General Ace Magashule remains aggressively aligned to former president Jacob Zuma; published photos in the Sunday Times recently have provided further testament of this. But how far is he willing to go to maintain his dissidence? The answer, quite simply, has to be all the way, and that’s because he doesn’t only risk no longer enjoying the ill-gotten gains of the Zuma years, he also risks losing it all by going to prison.

Speaking at COSATU’s congress last week President Cyril Ramaphosa, while Ace was seated nearby, told delegates that, “If they (presumably the other faction containing Zuma, Magashule and their ilk) are working to divide the ANC, tell us what your agenda is, we cannot accept this”. Seemingly emboldened by recent developments in both the Zondo and Nugent commissions, Cyril was suddenly on the offensive, directly attacking the opposing faction with these remarks. Magashule wasn’t prepared to take that lying down, a sentiment evidenced by his subsequent comments on Friday evening when he stated, “I am not a product of white people. I am not a product of capital…there are people who are the products of the white man in the ANC” (When in doubt, play the race card. Rinse, repeat. Yawn). He also said that, “There is no ANC leadership which I am a part of that is going to stop me meeting with President Jacob Zuma”. Was his use of the word ‘president’ and not the words ‘former president’ an accident? One wonders.

Quizzically, he also stated that he’d be happy to appear before the Zondo commission and share

what he knows. Is this a desperate attempt at brinkmanship, or is it a thinly-veiled threat to others that he’s prepared to expose the “smallanyana skeletons” (thanks to Bathabile Dlamini for this delicious quote) that he could have knowledge of? If it’s the latter, he’s playing a very dangerous game. There are probably those that have cases of varying degrees of complicity to answer for. After all, Jacob Zuma didn’t pillage and plunder the state purse with such impunity without the help, or the turning of a blind-eye, of a lot of powerful people. But how does he predict these people will respond to his threats? One assumes he’s hoping they will rally around him out of fear. But this far into the end-game, they may just decide that they’d rather have him take their place under the proverbial bus.

Having recently appointed a new and respected Hawks head, and about to appoint a new NPA head, Cyril Ramaphosa is quietly sending a message to the likes of Zuma and Magashule that things are about to get a lot worse for them. This may explain then why Zuma (according to the Sunday Times) visited Doha recently where he met with the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani. Qatar hasn’t had a good run of late, effectively being isolated by its four neighbors, so it’s probably looking for allies wherever it can find them. And Qatar has money, piles of it. Could Zuma be attempting to access Qatar’s purse for funds to protect himself? One wonders.

All things considered, the stage looks set for a titanic showdown.

ZUMA’S ACE UP THE SLEEVE, THE SEC TO CLEAN ELON’S CLOCKS, AND SHOULD SA ULTIMATELY PAY THE PRICE OF IT’S PARADOX?ZUMA’S ACE UP THE SLEEVE…

Stewart DandoInvestment Specialist | MIFM Squawk Editor in chief

Weekly Squawk - by Stewart Dando

Gigaba attempts to boost tourism: As part of Ramaphosa’s plan to stimulate multiple facets of our economy, the Department of Home Affairs announced last Tuesday that travel rules for foreigners travelling with children will be relaxed. When the law was implemented on June 1, 2015, requiring all parents that entered the country with their children present unabridged birth certificates, it caused massive controversy and hit SA’s tourism industry hard. Many critics slammed the department, demanding imperical evidence that these measures had ever worked in the past. Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba announced that documentation proving parental consent for a minor to travel was no longer a requirement, but added that it was highly recommended that they did so anyway. “Our immigration officials will only insist on documentation by exception – in high-risk situations – rather than for all travelers, in line with practice by several other countries,” Gigaba said.

Shortly after the announcement, Gigaba became embroiled in a twitter war (Read: Twar) with 702 Radio personality Redi Tlhabi who castigated him and the department for their handling of the situation. She even went as far as to accuse him of only acting in his own interest when it was revealed that he had laid kidnapping charges when the cousin of his ex-wife travelled with his Daughter Lerato outside of the country.

The story is continuing in the media.

Them’s fight’n words: “They do not want me or us to win because I am

the first president ever to challenge China on trade and we are winning on trade, we are winning at every level. We don’t want them to meddle or interfere in our upcoming election.” US President Donald Trump, who one can only imagine keeps a well-thumbed copy of Dale Carengie’s ‘How to win friends and influence people’ on his bedside table, took to the world stage last week Tuesday and addressed the United Nations General Assembly. Not content to only pick one fight at a time, Trump also took aim at Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (who was present), vowing more crippling sanctions on the oil-rich nation. When Rouhani’s turn arrived, he decried the attitude of the US, and even suggested that his American counterpart suffered from a “weakness of intellect”.

And Trump even had the temerity (I should stop being surprised) to proclaim that his administration was one of the most successful in US history. Once the incredulous laughter had subsided, with a beaming smile he retorted, “That wasn’t the reaction I was expecting, but hey, that’s ok”. Afterwards, he told journalists in New York that, “They weren’t laughing at me, they were laughing with me. People had a good time with me.”

“None so deaf as those that will not hear, none so blind as those that will not see” – Matthew Henry

The SEC not happy with Musk: Tesla CEO Elon Musk may have needed some more relaxation-inducing marijuana last week Friday as his net worth plummeted a whopping $1.5 billion! This came after it was announced that the Securities and

Indicators:

AT THE CLOSE, OR AT 06:00 SAST TODAY:

JSE: 55,708.47 POINTS

GOLD: $1,190.88/OZ

DOLLAR/RAND: $1/R14,1350

R186 YIELD: 8.99%

BRENT CRUDE: $83.25/BL

REPO: 6.5%

CPI/INFLATION:4.9%

Interesting Stuff

Weekly Squawk - by Stewart Dando

Article of the Week

Financial Planning. It isn’t easy, and with markets and the economy as volatile and depressing as they are, it’s rarely fun either. Writing for Moneyweb, Patrick Cairns explores planning for the worst-case scenario, and how frightening this can be. He also echoes the call for devising a strategically sound plan,

and sticking to it, something that is a lot easier said than done…

h t t p s : // w w w. m o n e y w e b . c o . z a /m y m o n e y/moneyweb-financial-planning/has-your-advisor-considered-a-worst-case-scenario/

Quote of the Week

The game of professional investment is intolerably boring and over-exacting to anyone who is entirely exempt from the gambling instinct; whilst he who has it must pay to this propensity the appropriate toll – Famous economist John Maynard Keynes.

“ “

What is ‘Leverage’?

Jargon of the Week

Leverage is the investment strategy of using borrowed money: specifically, the use of various financial instruments or borrowed capital to increase the potential return of an investment. Leverage can also refer to the amount of debt used to finance assets. When one refers to something (a company, a property or an investment) as “highly leveraged,” it means that item has more debt than equity.

Source: Investopedia

Exchange Commission accused him of misleading investors with his now infamous tweet about taking the electric carmaker private. In the tweet, he asserted that he had secured funding for the deal, a now-proven fabrication that caused a spike in the Tesla share price. In its lawsuit, the SEC is also seeking to have him banned from serving as a director or officer. The news caused the Tesla share price to drop 13%, bringing the decline

since the August 7 tweet to 29%. The share was trading hands at $265 on Friday, a far cry from the $420 sought by Musk by taking the company private.

But at least he’ll have an empathetic shoulder to cry on. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg saw his bank balance drop by around $2 billion on the same day as it was announced that a security breach at the social media giant may

have affected around 50 million accounts.

The trials and tribulations of today’s billionaires. Shame, poor things.

(Note: In the news this morning it is being reported that Tesla and Musk will pay the SEC $40 million to avoid prosecution)

Weekly Squawk - by Stewart Dando

In Conclusion

“Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men” - John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton, first Baron Acton (1834–1902).

A paradox is a seemingly absurd or self-contradictory statement, proposition or idea that when investigated or explained may prove to be well founded or true. How is this relevant for South Africa? Allow me to explain.

Former President Jacob Zuma became too powerful too quickly. His facilitating support base comprised of those who either feared or revered him, normally with equal fervor, and the ardent loyalty of the unquestioning masses. The latter, having experienced unspeakable hardship and cruelty in the past, were easily and understandably drawn to Zuma’s own toxic brand of populism and his go-to strategy of “Everything can be blamed on the whites and the west”. This burgeoning power brought

with it the all-too-familiar and dangerous temptation to enrich oneself because, “Hey, I deserve to skim a little off the top, don’t I”? The problem comes in when that ‘little off the top’ is no longer enough, neither for you or the complicit circle around you with rapacious appetites that feel entitled to share in the spoils.

The vast majority of us desperately want Cyril to succeed. He has a damaged country to rebuild, a decimated social confidence to restore, a skeptical international community to convince. For him to succeed, however, he will have to wield immense power, such is the magnitude of the threat from within his own party. He has been walking a fine line thus far, playing his cards close to his chest, speaking out only when it’s absolutely necessary. Perhaps the time has come for a full-blown offensive attack? But it would be myopic and stupid to do this without the margin of safety and surety that a genuinely

© 2018 - 2018 Zapiro (All Rights Reserved)

Originally published in one of these publications: Daily Maverick, Sunday Times, The Times, Mail and Guardian, IOL, or Sowetan in 2018.

Printed/Used with permission. More Zapiro cartoons at www.zapiro.com

The Squawk thanks the following sources of inspiration: Daily Maverick, Bloomberg, News24, Moneyweb, Financial Times and Investopedia.

Until next week, make good decisions, and happy investing.

“The opinions and views expressed in this newsletter are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the attooh! Group or its affiliates. Content stated as fact was fact at the time of writing. The information in this newsletter is not intended to constitute financial advice as contemplated in the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act”

Should SA ultimately pay the price of it’s paradox?

powerful hand gives him. It’s a level a power not unlike that which Jacob Zuma began to enjoy, right before he began robbing us blind…

Our paradox, therefore, is this: For us to truly free ourselves of the rule and ruin of Jacob Zuma, we may just have to recreate the reality that allowed him to wield that much power in the first place, and risk history repeating itself at the expense of the future.

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